Can Animal Rights and
Vegetarianism (Veganism) Succeed Without Church Support?By: Frank L. and Mary T. Hoffman, June 2002

History has taught us that
most major non-violence reforms have either begun or been strongly supported by
the Christian Church and other religions. The first child and animal
welfare movements began in Great Britain in the mid 1800's. Vegetarian and
Vegan societies followed on their heels.

In the United States 90% of
the population claims to be Christian, 2% claim to be Jewish, and most of the
remaining 8% are people of other religions. In the animal rights movement,
we have found many people who have either left the Church or who are on the
verge of leaving, because of the hardness of heart they have experienced through
Church members and/or clergy.

We believe that both sides of
this issue are making a mistake. How can the animal rights and vegetarian
(vegan) movements ever hope to succeed if they ignore the vast majority of other
people in this world? The answer is, they can't. How can the
Christian Church ever have the growth and support of true believers they seek if
they support both the Prince of Peace and hardness of heart, cruelty, and
killing. The answer is, they can't.

We need to find ways of
working together, but the path is not easy, because people don't seem to want to
change their ways. They want to live in God's concessions and their own
indulgences. That is, unless they are cajoled or embarrassed into
accepting some change.

Most of the Church claims to
be "pro-life", but they are really only anti-abortion of human babies; for many
of them continue to support war, capital punishment, hunting, and the killing
and eating of animals from the unbelievably cruel and inhumane animal
agriculture industry. Furthermore, they support this suffering and cruelty
from their pulpits and through their social and fund-raising functions. We
need to let them see that they are both hypocritical and not pro-life.

If a Church has a function or
fund raiser where they are glorifying the pain and suffering inflicted upon
animals by serving their body parts, then we need to politely go and let them
know what they are doing, including showing graphic photos. If it makes
people get sick to their stomachs, so be it, for it is far better to have such
things happen now, than to have the Lord spew these people out of His mouth as
we are told in Revelation 3:16.

Gandhi made a peaceful stand
against the English Christians and won independence from Great Britain.
King made a similar stance for the rights of African Americans in the United
States. Both of these men tried their cases before the Christian Church
and in the media, and they succeeded. The animal rights and compassionate
vegan movements must learn from these lessons and present their cases in similar
ways, and continue to do so until the hearts of the people are softened and
changed. What better way to do this than from within houses of worship.

No one who claims to believe
in God can seriously support the evil perpetrated on God's creatures. All
the excuses in the world cannot justify society's condoning of the atrocities
animals are forced to suffer. So, if God is on our side, who can be against us?
All we need to do to succeed is persist in telling and living the truth. Only
with persistence will we succeed. Now it is up to us.